The present invention relates to the shaft of a roller used in a food peeling device. More specifically and without limitation, this invention relates to a roller that can be accessed on both ends to facilitate the replacement process of an abrasive section on the roller shaft.
In the art of food peelers, a plurality of rollers are used within a peeling chamber to peel the skin off food items such as potatoes or pistachio nuts. Hundreds of potatoes are placed in a hopper having an auger that propels the potatoes into a peeling chamber. As the potatoes progress along the length of the rollers, the rollers, which have an abrasive material therein, skin the food product. Because of this method, the abrasive material used at the inlet end of the peeler wears out much faster than the abrasive material at the outlet end of the peeler. Consequently, to ensure that maximum use is garnered out of the abrasive material on the rollers, the abrasive material is split into several sections. Thus, when a section at the inlet end of the roller becomes worn, that section may be replaced by taking the roller shaft out of the peeling chamber and removing that section from the roller shaft.
Traditionally, roller shafts have been made with a single end that rotatably detaches from the shaft to allow access to the sections of abrasive material on the roller. When a section is worn and needs to be replaced, the end, as well as various sections of abrasive material need to be removed to gain access to the worn section.
The current method of changing the abrasive sections on a roller shaft requires a time consuming and labor intensive process. Because only one side of the roller end can be removed and likewise be removed from the roller shaft to gain access to the worn section, down time results. This down time can result in substantial lost profits. Consequently, there is a need in the art for an improved roller shaft that will allow for quick changing of abrasive material sections on the roller shaft. Additionally, there is a need for an improved method of replacing the abrasive material sections on a roller shaft that reduces down time during the replacement.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide for an improved roller shaft that allows for easy access to the abrasive material sections on the roller shaft.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved roller shaft that allows access to the abrasive material sections on both ends of the roller shaft.
Another object of the present invention is to use a hydraulic pump in order to replace the abrasive material section of a roller shaft assembly.
These and others objects, features, or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the specification and claims.